IDF gears up for riots on Gaza border as Palestinians plan to renew protest

For the third Friday in a row, Palestinians are expected to gather near the Gaza border as part of the March of Return wave of protests. As witnessed in the past weeks, these protests have the potential to become violent.

A Palestinian protest near the Gaza border Screenshot from YouTube

Palestinians are expected to gather near the Gaza Strip border on Friday for the third week in a row as part of the March of Return movement. The IDF expects protesters to throw Molotov cocktails and burn Israeli flags.

Friday’s expected riots come just days after Israeli jets attacked a Hamas terror target in a military compound in the northern Gaza Strip. Shots fired at the jets from an unknown source triggered a red alert siren in some areas of southern Israel.

On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman urged Hamas to act for the benefit of the residents of Gaza rather than spend its resources on fighting against Israel.

“My message to our neighbors from the south is this – you will never succeed in breaking us down,” Lieberman said, speaking at a ceremony in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai concluding Holocaust Remembrance Day. “Our spirit, our hope and our faith, which guided us through the Holocaust and the War of Independence, are stronger than all of our enemies and haters.”